Collections

Pics, arm swatches and lip swatches of MAC Shiny Pretty Things…as well as commentary/thoughts from the perspective of a 40-something-year-old woman who loves MAC and makeup. ? Please note, this is just the makeup collection, not the gift sets or kits. The whole collection is LE and available now at MAC counters and online. If you’d like to see the makeup in action, check out this post, this post and this post. For reference, I’m an NC42.

If you like shimmer, shine, frost, pearl and/or glitter, and you’re cool with the fact that it’s already the holidays for makeup companies, this MAC holiday collection is both shiny and pretty. It radiaties megawatts of luminescence. Of the 21 pieces, all which are bedecked/bedazzled in limited edition shiny silver packaging, only one has absolutely no shine to it — a hot pink matte lipstick called Both Cheeks ($19.50), which is gorgeous, by the way. It’s like a matte version of Show Orchid.

I suppose you could also consider creamy beige-pink Babetown Lipstick ($19.50) as something other than shiny, because it isn’t as shiny as the other items in the release, but it is technically a Cremesheen, so it’s still kinda shiny… It’s also the thing I’ve been wearing most from this entire collection.

But yeah, you better be into glitter if you’re gonna go big with this collection, because there’s SO MUCH GLITTER. All of the Shiny Pretty Shadows ($21.50 each) are glittery (allegedly they’re a new formula, but I think they might be re-branded Pressed Pigments), the Dazzleliner liquid liners ($22 each) are glittery, and the Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Snowflushed ($35) is HELLA glittery — like, someone could illuminate a disco party using the reflection off your face.

I happen to like glitter in controlled/small doses, and I’m very particular about the particulars of the glitter I like to wear because, as a non-21-year-old, I have pores.

I also have experience lines.

And glitter amplifies those things.

Yet I really like the Shiny Pretty Things glitters. They’re — wait for it — wearable!

So what’s “wearable glitter”? Well, I think the flecks are fine (but not necessarily microscopic), and not like the massive Skittle-sized pieces of glitter you use for face painting at a child’s birthday party.

Also, IMO the glitter bits in “wearable glitter” aren’t all the exact same shape and size. They vary, owing to a higher degree of complexity and sophistication…

Yes, I know that’s taking glitter very seriously. ?

By far, the most interesting glitters in this collection to me are the Shiny Pretty Shadows. They’re moderately pigmented glitter shadows with a pearly base, and the glitter bits are all different shapes and sizes. When you press the shadows on your lids either wet or dry — because, let’s face it, using a sweeping motion is just gonna send the stuff flying all over the place — they almost look like shattered glass sparkling in sunlight. Some flecks even look like they’re floating above your skin like pixie dust.

The long-wearing Dazzleliners (sparkly-er cousins of the MAC Liquidlast Liners) also have that shattered glass effect.

And then there’s Snowflushed, with its relatively incognito gold, bronze and pink flecks of glitter (subtle glitter is always a plus if you have a pore situation).

Also, none of the glosses feel gritty, by the way, if you were wondering.

The take-home home message is this: This is a *very* glittery collection, but a surprising amount of it is wearable, even for someone older than 20. If you’re into that, check out the eyeshadows, the liner and the highlighters, which I think are the standouts.

Here’s another look experiment I did this week, this one using two of the four $22 Dazzleliners — a golden pink called Holiday Time! and a charcoal black with silver and gold glitter called A Little Moonlight (LOVE that name, BTW).

For the record, I still like wearing glitter (yes, even at my age), but it’s not an everyday thing anymore because — let’s get real here — glitter isn’t easy to wear when you’re 40+ years old (hello, pores and wrinkles experience lines!).

But I think it can still be fun in controlled doses, especially if the glitter, like in these Dazzleliners, sticks to your skin like glue.

Dazzleliner in Holiday Time!

There’s a TON of glitter in the Dazzleliners, but what else would you expect from something with the word “dazzle” in the name?

The Dazzleliners are like glittery MAC Liquidlast Liners. Similar packaging, and the same skinny paint brush applicator, similar viscosity. The liquid isn’t runny; it’s closer to a cream, but it’s less thick and dense than a cream shadow or gel liner.

Holiday Time looks more cool yellow gold than pink on my NC42 lids. I thought it might be similar to Urban Decay’s gold Glitter Liner in Midnight Cowboy before I actually used it, but the two are vastly different. The Urban Decay Glitter Liners contain glitter pieces suspended in a clear base, whereas the MAC Dazzleliners have their glitter pieces in an opaque pearly golden base.

I’m wearing Holiday Time as an eyeshadow in this look. I drew thick slashes with the skinny paintbrush applicator directly on my lids, then buffed it out with a MAC 217. The liquid sets very quickly, like in less than a minute, after which point it doesn’t move (yup, it’s also long-lasting).

After I buffed out the liquid liner, I could see the various shapes and sizes of the glitter pieces in the liner (so sparkly, and very cool). The pearly base sheered out significantly, and as the liquid liner set on my lids, I could feel it slightly tightening up a little, as if something in the formula was evaporating away quickly.

The tightening sensation didn’t hurt or anything. I just didn’t expect it.

By the way, I layered a touch of pink glitter eyeshadow on top for extra shimmer in this look — the shade Major Win, which is also one of the Shiny Pretty Shadows from the collection.

I like Holiday Time! (Both literally and figuratively, haha.) It’s long-lasting, too. If I were going dancing, I know I could wear it, and it would last all night long. Only thing is that I wish it looked a little more pink on me.

MAC Make a Wish Shiny Pretty Shadow

I’ve been loving on MAC since roughly the Cretaceous Period, and I’m pretty sure these Shiny Pretty Shadows are a new formula, as in not seen before (at least not in my recollection).

The first thing I notice when I touch Make a Wish with my finger is how much it feels like the MAC Pressed Pigments from Heirloom Mix 2014 Holiday and Summer 2013. It’s almost as soft as a cream, but it’s still a dry powder, and it feels ever-so gritty (but it’s so not annoying), probably from the glitter.

The flecks come in different shapes and sizes, and because they aren’t uniform, it’s like looking at shattered glass. I think it’s VERY cool and NOT subtle. You can definitely see this glitter from across a small room, and it looks purposeful, like a fashionable fairy floated by and sprinkled magic dust on your face. Also, you can’t really see it in these pics, but there are a few random pieces of glitter sitting on top of my lids and my cheeks. It’s more obvious when I turn my head side to side. I can see how some folks might not like this effect, but I do. It’s not loud, and the glitter bits aren’t so big that they veer into tacky territory.

Regarding the uneven-ness of the pieces, a.k.a. the grit, the glitter doesn’t hurt or bother my sensitive eyes in any way. My eyes don’t water at all, which is something because normally EVERYTHING makes me tear up.

It’s enough to do a look with just the shadow alone, or you could layer it on top of other eyeshadows, which is what I did here.

I’m wearing Make A Wish on top of shimmery olive MAC Extra Dimension Eyeshadow in Silver Dawn, which is a shimmery olive. I tapped it directly on top with a flat eyeshadow brush. Then, I loaded the brush up with more eyeshadow, wet it with MAC Fix+, and dabbed it in the center to intensify the glitter and the shine effect.

Make a Wish is definitely worth a look, especially if you wear greens, khakis and olives.

There are lots of pressed glittery eyeshadows out there that are mostly glitter suspended in a sheer powder base (good for pressing on top of an existing base of eyeshadow to add more dimension and complexity to an eye look, like Urban Decay Moondust Shadow in Diamond Dog), but this isn’t like that.

Make a Wish has an opalescent base (although it isn’t shiny like a frost), and it’s pigmented, but it’s definitely not opaque. It has an edge to it, but it still looks approachable, I think. It’s surprisingly wearable. If it were a full-on, frosty opaque shadow, I probably wouldn’t like it as much. It would be too much for my 40-something-year-old @ss. LOL! Whereas this seems like juuuuust the right amount of shine and pigment for a slightly special occasion…so like dinner and a movie or a shopping date with your BFF.

Highlights to the moon and back! The MAC Shiny Pretty Things Holiday 2018 collection, which is out now in case you were craving high-intensity highlights, is a limited edition launch split into two parts — 1) a makeup collection with eyeshadows, liners, lipsticks, glosses and highlighters, and 2) a whole lotta gift sets.

Here’s a look I did today with both of the highlighters from the collection, just to give you an idea of what you could do with them. Mind you, I’m not really a gal who likes to walk around highlighted to the gods, but I was taken over by an otherworldly force when I saw these two new Extra Dimension Skinfinish Powders, and it said, “GIRL, YOU NEED TO SPREAD THOSE GLITTERS ALL OVER YOUR FACE LIKE BUTTAH.”

This one’s a metallic bronzed pink with medium-sized pieces of pink glitter, and it looks like a glittery powder version of MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklite. I’m wearing it on my upper cheekbones, and I love it!

Clearly, UD has a thing for Bing…cherries. Based on the packaging for new Naked Cherry collection, Bing is bomb, and I can appreciate that. I mean, I get it. I see the connection. A deep, dark, purplish Bing makes sense for a makeup collection, but I still like Rainiers more. They’re sweeter, man! And I love that red and yellow ombre action #importantfruitopinions.

(Quick makeup query: Years ago MAC also released a cherry-inspired collection. Can you remember what it was called?)

No reds, but plenty of pink and plum

Surprise! — there’s not a lot of red in UD’s new Naked Cherry collection.

LIKE NONE.

Red eyeshadow is on trend right now, but if you were hoping for seductive scarlets, vampy vermilions and ruby reds in this release, sorry.

The collection, which has been out about a week now, includes an eyeshadow palette ($49), a blush/highlighting trio ($34), two eyeliners ($21), three lipsticks ($34), and a cherry-scented setting spray ($15).

Judging by the name — Naked Cherry — you may have quite naturally expected there to be copious quantities of crimson in this collection, but these pretties are predominantly pink, rose, purple and mauve. Even more shockingly, no orange-y browns in the eye palette!

I know; am I still in the normal reality?? When was the last time UD released a palette without an orange-brown?

Quick take: shockingly wearable

If you’re craving something kind of different that isn’t filled with typical browns, AND you like wearing purples, AND you can see yourself venturing into the Land of Mauve and Rosy Tones, the Naked Cherry palette is worth a look. I like it.

The Naked palettes are Urban’s take on neutrals, and Naked Cherry still seems, well…neutral. I thought I would have a hard time with it because whenever I wear red, or reddish eyeshadows, I look sick and/or tired, but that’s not a problem for this palette, since these shades do not have red undertones. There are just plenty of wearable purples, plums, burgundies, roses and mauves.

Oh, and kisses of copper, beige and peach to break things up a little.

Wearing the eye palette, cheek palette and Devilish Lipstick

The palette appears to be similar to Backtalk (which caused a minor uproar among people who were expecting a straight-up red eye palette when it was recently launched), but… Anyway, you could stick the eyeshadows from Naked Cherry into the the Balktalk palette, and they’d appear to fit right in, but they are quite different (see the swatches below). These colors are more than different enough to stand on their own.

From the top: the eyeshadows, the blush and highlighter, lipsticks and the liners